


Hamilton Rants

by Kasuna_Kotonoha



Category: 18th Century CE RPF, 19th Century CE RPF, Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Analysis, Character Analysis, Dueling, F/M, Gen, Hamilton Lyrics, Hamilton References, Historical References, Hubris, Rants, Song: The World Was Wide Enough, vent fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:59:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25853236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kasuna_Kotonoha/pseuds/Kasuna_Kotonoha
Summary: In which I bitch/analyze/talk about various Hamilton thingsFeel free to leave suggestions
Relationships: Aaron Burr & Theodosia Burr Alston, Aaron Burr/Theodosia Prevost Burr, Alexander Hamilton/Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	1. "This man will not make an orphan of my daughter"

So I was scrolling through the comments of World was Wide enough animatics when I saw several comments like this

_ “But Theodosia was a married adult, and Hamilton had like 7 children who needed him.” _

And I disagree with that, quite strongly. 

For one, it completely dismissed how Theodosia would have felt had her father died. Theo Sr died in 1794, when she was 11. So she had already lost one parent.

There’s also the fact that Burr and Theo were very close, sharing correspondences until her disappearance. Had her father died, she would have lost a close confidant, with only her husband and her two year old son. And had Burr died, Theo would indeed be an orphan.

Burr knows this, and knows what being an orphan is like. Both his parents died by the time he was two, and he was raised by an Uncle who wasn’t particularly nice. Burr loves his daughter more than anything, and wouldn’t want her to go through the same thing, especially since she actually had a relationship with her parents, unlike Burr who never knew them, which would make Burr’s theoretical death even worse.

She’d be devastated.

Hamilton, on the other hand, does indeed have several children between the ages of 20 and 2, but their mother is still alive, and their aunt Angelica was there too. 

Hamilton, also, wasn’t a true orphan until 1799, when his father actually died. He may have claimed the title of orphan, and he was, in a sense, but he had relationships with his parents. His mother raised him until she died, and Hamilton did make some attempt to keep in contact with his father.

However, my biggest problem is this.

**WHY SHOULD BURR BE EXPECTED TO THINK ABOUT HAMILTONS KIDS!!!!**

They aren’t his. He has no obligation to think about them. There’s also the fact that they’re kinda sorta the children of the man he's dueling, and has some significant beef with.

In a duel, in most circumstances, you’re only going to be thinking about yourself, how what happens to  _ you  _ will affect your loved ones. 

If you’re worried about the Hamilkids, go admonish Hamilton. It's his job to think about them, not Burr.

While no death would be ideal, I do think Burr had every right to think this.


	2. Hamilton and hubris

Ok, I gotta level with you.

Hamilton's fatal flaw is definitely pride.

If you really look at it, it’s at the source of what causes his downfall at the hands of Burr in the duel.

The first real taste of Hamilton's pride is in “My Shot” when he proclaims “I probably shouldn’t brag” and then proceeds to immediately brag with “But dag I amaze and astonish” He’s smart, talented, and he knows it. 

In “Satisfied” when Angelica and Hamilton first talk, he claims “[he’s’] never been satisfied” and Angelica seems to agree, the second to last line being “He will never be satisfied.” What he has can never be enough, as it were.

When we get to Burr and Hamilton’s confrontation in “Ten Duel Commandments”, we see yet another instance. When Burr asks’s “Can we agree that duels are dumb and immature”, Hamilton responds with “Sure” and then proceeded to say that Lee still needs to answer for his words. Keep this in mind, because I’ll come back to it later.

After “Laurens Interlude” the musical immediately jumps to “Non-Stop”, starting out with Hamilton, Burr, and the Levi Weeks case. Hamilton calls Burr his “Assistant council” only to be corrected and reminded that he and Burr are “Co-councils” When he goes to say more, he’s cut off by Burr saying “Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room.” and “Soon that attitude may be your doom.”

Pretty on the nose, but it's true. There are a lot of smart characters, most notable Angelica and Burr, but not once does Hamilton acknowledge them as equals. Even Angelica, who Lin Manuel Miranda has said is pretty much the smartest person in the entire musical, is disregarded.

Now, Hamilton and Burr’s middle of the night confrontation. Hamilton is complementary to Burr, claiming he’s a better lawyer, which is arguably true, but Burr isn’t fooled. Hamilton has never complimented Burr before this, and Burr knows him well enough to know Hamilton wants something.

Later, when Eliza tries to confront him about leaving, he throws her own logic back at her, and Eliza asks “Isn’t this enough?” and Angelica responds with “He will never be satisfied”, echoing what she said earlier, and she’s right. It’s kind of hard to hear, but Eliza asks a moment later “What would be enough to be satisfied.”

The song ends not with an answer to any of these questions, but Hamilton proclaiming he’s “Not throwing away his shot.” He won’t compromise anything for anyone.

Then we get to the affair. “Say no to this” doesn’t have much, but it does have Hamilton saying “I am ruined.” And while he is, to be fair, it gives no consideration to anyone else who might be ruined. People like Maria and Eliza

“The room where it happens.” I couldn’t possibly tell you how much I love this song. Hamilton and Burr’s confrontation at the climax is just...Ahh! Hamilton is just. So smug the entire time, basking in what he’s accomplished, and throwing Burr’s words and advice back at him.

“Schuyler Defeated”, particularly the workshop verson, is riddled with small bits of pride, but what I want to focus on is Burr’s final lines. “I swear your pride will be the death of us all Beware, it goeth before the fall” Neither of them realizes just how true this line is. Only Hamilton’s death is literal, of course, but pride is also the cause of death for Burr’s political career.

It is here where Hamilton makes his second most questionable decision. The publishing of the Reynolds Pamphlet. Despite the ensemble telling him to wait for it in “Hurricane”, he doesn’t. 

In the actual song of the same name, Hamilton is so relieved that Angelica shows up, seeming to not consider that Angelica would be here for anyone other than her sister. The theme of satisfaction comes back, with Angelica saying “God I hope you’re satisfied.” before leaving. It’s a huge blow to his ego, since the one person who might have understood has left him as well.

“Blow us all away” is riddled with pride. There’s Philip, who has some pride of his own, and is shouldering his fathers, admittedly tarnished, legacy. After challenging Eacker and going home, the first thing Philip says about the situation is that he didn’t think Hamilton would have let what Eacker said slide. Another thing of note is the fact that, like in “Ten duel Commandments” there is no apology on part of Eacker. Similar to TDC, Eacker has answers for his words, but unlike in TDC, it’s not he, the instigator, who pays with his life, but Philip. 

Now, “The election of 1800.” Up until now, Hamilton’s pride hasn’t managed to cause him any problems that don’t seem to work themselves out. However, that changes when he makes the decision to throw his support behind Jefferson. This is where I’m going to split from the musical for a moment, because we need to go historical. The election, though it didn’t do anything to help Burr’s opinion of Hamilton, wasn’t the root cause of their feud. That was Hamiltons support of Morgan Lewis over Burr in the bid to become governor of New York, and more importantly, a newspaper publishing a letter written by Charles Cooper. That letter said that Hamilton had called Burr a dangerous man, and that he could have expressed a still more despicable opinion.

What followed was an exchange of letters that would soon lead to both of their downfalls. Let’s jump back to the musical now. Hamilton responds to Burr, claiming “[he’s] not the reason no one trusts you.” and that he wouldn’t equivocate on his opinion, something historical Hamilton did as well. Jump forward a couple of seconds, and we get the precursors to the line that ultimately damns him. “I won’t apologize for doing what’s right.” and “I can’t apologize because it’s true.” and just moments later comes the official challenge, and Hamilton utters that fateful “You’re on”

Remembered how I said to keep in mind what Hamilton said in his TDC conversation with Burr? Yeah, that comes around here. Hamilton refused to answer for his words, as in a simple apology, so he ends up answers for them in a different way.

Death.

The funny thing is, though maybe not that funny, is that this outcome could have pretty easily been avoided. As Burr said in “Ten things, one thing.” the off-broadway version of “World was wide enough”

“Just apologize, we have worthier pursuits!”

And that just might be the biggest tragedy of all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, this isn't even that good, but yeah. Is it even cohesive or argumentative
> 
> Really, Hamilton could have just apologized.
> 
> Also, I really need you guys to leave suggestion of things for me to write about. Lines you want me to direct, my thoughts on a particular theory, almost anything goes.


End file.
